Influence of Parameters on Fabricating TiO₂ Nanotube by a Hydrothermal Method

Abstract

TiO2 nanotube was synthesized successfully with different parameters via hydrothermal process, using nanopowder TiO2 and concentrated NaOH solution as raw materials. If the hydrothermal temperature, hydrothermal time or washing conditions were changed, the structure of the nanotube was different. The phase compositions and morpholog ies of the TiO2 nanotube was characterized by XRD and SEM. These results suggested that the length of the nanotube increased from 180 nm to 270 nm, and the diameter almost kept a fixed level about 15~20 nm within a range of 110°C~150°C. The length of the nanotube increased from 230 nm to 330 nm and diameter was nearly unchanged as the result of time increasing from 24 h to 48 h. Washing conditions were very important to influence the nanotube. When the deposit was washed directly with distilled water, short and thick nanorod were formated, and microrod generated with concentrated hydrochloric acid, and microrod structure with smooth surface was produced with absolute ethyl alcohol, and the nanotube was fabricated only after washing by dilute acid.